Depending on the fleet size and its age, airlines buy 30-50 per cent of the components that they need, and take the rest on lease. Expenditure on spares and components is a considerable part of engineering and maintenance, which account for over 9-10 per cent of the total operating expense of an airline. For instance, Air India, which has a large and ageing fleet, has to provide $35 million-$40 million for spare parts during any time of the year.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has voiced his concern at Dassault's reported reluctance to meet the terms of the IAF tender, which required the French company to guarantee the 108 fighters that HAL would build in India, after the first 18 were supplied fully-built in France.
With the IAF having rejected variants of 4 of the contending aircraft -- the Super Hornet, F-16, Gripen C/D and MiG-35 -- in flight trials carried out between 2009-2011 in the MMRCA tender, are the current contenders improved enough to pass flight trials conducted to the same standards?
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
An official statement said that the successful execution of arrested landing will pave the way for this indigenous platform to undertake Aircraft Carrier landing demonstration onboard the Indian Naval Aircraft Carrier, Vikramaditya.
In a major technology leap, Indian defence scientists are ready to go ahead with the first full test flight of its indigenously developed air to air beyond visual range missile, ASTRA. The test-flight from an IAF Sukhoi fighter aircraft could be undertaken "anytime in the next 45 days", top DRDO officials said.
'The air force continues to be short of planes.' 'So, more than a decade after the last selection round got under way, the same process is about to start again for the same kind of aircraft, naturally with the same likely bidders,' points out T N Ninan.
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
Unlike conventional subs that must surface every 48 to 72 hours, these subs can stay submerged for up to 14 days.
Islamic State-linked militants in Algeria have beheaded a French hostage captured over the weekend -- having earlier made threats to kill him if France did not stop bombing targets in Iraq.
Maharashtra has the opportunity to solve all these problems by voting for the Congress and NCP, he said.
Congress may give a privilege motion notice against the prime minister and Sitharaman.
The IAF said the details are held by it in fiduciary
Brussels commuters, heading to work the morning after Belgium's painful World Cup loss to France, had to endure the French soccer anthem piped through the city's metro on Wednesday.
'The opposition party was disappointed that the UN listing does not mention the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, and has no reference to Jammu and Kashmir'
Home-grown fare, international discoveries, brand new seasons of hugely anticipated series, Sukanya Verma lists her top 10 OTT shows.
Rafael Nadal overcame a temporary blip on his way to victory at the ATP Cup on Saturday
It's a bold marketing move for the locally-produced light combat aircraft.
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
The final deal may be clinched by May-end.
Why did the Chinese military take over the lab in Wuhan in end January? Did something go wrong? Claude Arpi glances at the mystery surrounding the origin of the coronavirus.
As 2018 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and Twitter storms fade into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom has taught us something about ourselves and the rapidly changing world in which we live.
Adding oomph to an ageing brand?. When the first wrinkles appear, the search for the fountain of youth must begin!
On July 1, 2021, Britain's Princess Diana would have turned 60 and two decades after her tragic death in a car accident near the end of summer 1997, she still holds an exalted place on the altar of the most admired people in the world, her status secure as a style icon -- as is her legacy of having forever changed the British monarchy.
Vistara has fine-tuned strategies to tap the elite class and Jet Airways may lose out on market share in times to come.
There are very few people in the world who qualify to be called a living legend. Astad Deboo is one of them.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony also demanded making public the inter-governmental agreement with France. He wondered how India would bridge the gap with respect to China and Pakistan by acquiring just 36 aircraft when the original plan was for 126.
Roger Federer produced a vintage performance to crush Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and seal Switzerland's maiden Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over hosts France on Sunday.
Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in the quaint, quiet resort of Cannes in southern France on Wednesday for the G20 Summit, the air was thick with doubt if the leaders of the world's largest economies would be able to deliver the goods and rein in the galloping debt crisis. Shishir Bhate reports from Cannes.
Young Akhil Sheoran clinched the gold medal in men's 50m rifle 3 position with plenty to spare as India continued their superlative run at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
A Court of Inquiry investigating the February 1 crash that killed two pilots is confronting the worrying possibility of a glitch in the flight computer that kicks in without warning, causing the aircraft to behave unpredictably.
The Congress vice president also alleged that the National Democratic Alliance government was delaying the Winter Session of Parliament as Modi was not ready to discuss the Rafale and Jay Shah issues in the House before the Gujarat polls.
Missing their grandparents, not being able to go out and meet their friends.... These are just some of the things that kids, who have been confined to their homes due to the coronavirus lockdown, have revealed. From Tokyo to Buenos Aires, and New York to Kathmandu, youngsters have taken to their balconies or front lawns to display and explain the drawings they have made to Reuters photographers.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
With this, the biggest buyer of Airbus SE A320neo planes seems to be moving away from Pratt & Whitney engines, which have been experiencing glitches. CFM International will deliver the first engine by 2020.
Moments that show it's an odd, odd world we live in.
IndiGo, which has grown rapidly to become India's biggest airline by market share, has now ordered 530 A320 family planes from Airbus, the planemaker said in a statement.
'Absolute non-violence is not only sinful, but immoral.' 'This doctrine of non-violence benumbed the revolutionary fervor, softened the limbs and hearts of the Hindus, and stiffened the bones of enemies.' A revealing excerpt from Vikram Sampath's Savarkar (Part 2): A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966.
Libyan jets pummeled rebel-held Ras Lanuf and took control of oil town of Zawiyah, amid growing global pressure on Muammar Gaddafi to quit as France became the first country to recognise the opposition National Council.
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